Annealing box



Oct. 6, 1936. HUNTER ET AL 2,056,522

ANN EALING BOX Filed Sept. 17, 1935 Patented Oct. 6, 1936 UNITED STATES ANNEALING BOX Percy E. Hunter and Kenneth J. 'Deahl, Pittsburgh, Pa.; said Deahl assignor to said Hunter I Application September 17, 1935, Serial No. 40,882

6 Claims.

Our invention relates to annealing boxes of the type commonly employed in the heat-treatment of metals.-

Annealing boxes asheretofore constructed represent a considerable initial investment and are short-lived and have to be replaced very frequently, since they will retain their shapes and effectiveness for only a very limited number of heats. The roofs or tops thereof in time become permanently sagged to such an extent that they will no longer accommodate a desired charge of material to be treated. Furthermore, sagging of the tops of the boxes aggravates bulging or other distortions of the sides, so that the boxes cannot be placed in the furnaces.

The object of our invention is to provide an improved support for the top wall of an annealing box.

Some of the forms which our invention may take are shown in the accompanying drawing wherein Figure 1 is a transverse sectional View, through an annealing box; Fig. 2 is a view on an enlarged scale, taken on the line IIII of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a modified form of the top-supporting device of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a similar view showing still another modification.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, the box is shown as constructed of sheet metal, but it will be understood that the invention is applicable also to boxes formed of cast metal. The box is provided with side walls l0, end walls II, and a top wall l2, formed of plates which are welded together at their abutting edges to produce a unitary box structure.

Another difiiculty encountered in the use of annealing boxes is that of the roof sagging in such manner that it not only extends too low into the box, but causes bulging and distortion of the sides of the box. To overcome this difliculty, we provide supporting elements which can rest upon the pack of sheets M or other material in the box which is supported on the bottom l5 of the furnace, in the usual manner. At various suitable points in the top wall of the box, we provide 45 sleeves 20 through the bottom walls of which extendstuds or pins 2| which may suitably be of refractory material such as clay or metal of low thermal conductivity. The stud 2| is provided 50 with a head which will prevent its falling out of the sleeve 20, but is loosely supported in the sleeve. An air seal 22 of sand or other suitable material is placed above the stud 2|.

An adjustable locking element 23 is provided 2|, so that adjustments can be made whereby the stud 2| will be limited in its upward movement, and thereby permit adaptation of the supporting device to sheet packs 25 of various heights within the box.

The member 23 is held in various adjustable positions by means of a pin 24 that extends through walls of the sleeve 20, to engage grooves in the member 23. It will be understood that with the parts in the position shown in Fig. 2, the top wall l2 will be held against sagging by the stud 2|.

In Fig. 3, we show a top-supporting device similar to the device shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and comprises a sleeve 50 through the bottom wall of which extends a stud 5|. The stud 5| is provided with an enlarged head 52 having a peripheral flange 53 depending therefrom, which flange telescopically encircles an upwardly-extending flange 54 on the bottom of the sleeve. An adjustable locking member 55 engages the head 52 of the stud 5| and. prevents upward movement thereof. The member 55 is held in various adjusted positions by a pin 56 that extends through the wall of the sleeve 50 and engages a helical groove formed on the member 55.

By adjusting the locking member 55, the stud 5| is accommodated to variation in heights of sheet packs or material within the box and supports the top wall of an annealing box against sagging through engagement with the top of such packs. The stud 5| is, of course, formed of material of low thermal conductivity, to prevent excessive heat transmission and welding of the top sheets of a pack.

An, annular space is provided between the flanged head of the stud 5| and the inner wall of the sleeve 50, which is filled with sand or other suitable material to effect an air seal for the supporting device, the sealing material also filling the bottom of the sleeve 5!] beneath the flange 53. The flange 54 will prevent falling of the sand from the sleeve 50.

In Fig. 4, we show a top-supporting device sim ilar to the device of Fig. 3, but wherein the supporting stud and locking element 51 are formed integrally, to facilitate removal thereof from the sleeve 58. In this case, the air seal of sand or other material is introduced through openings 59 in the wall of the sleeve 58 to fill the sleeve beneath the flanged portion 60 of the stud and the annular space between such flanged portion and the inner wall of the sleeve.

We claim as our invention:-

1. The combination with the top wall of an annealing box, of a supporting member carried by a mid portion of said wall and extending downwardly in position to rest upon a body of material within the box.

2. The combination with the top wall of an annealing box, of a supporting member carried by a mid portion of said wall and extending downwardly in position to rest upon a body of material within the box, and adjustable means providing for limited movement of the supporting member in a Vertical direction relative to said wall.

3. The combination with the top wall of an annealing box, of a sleeve-like member extending vertically through said wall, adjacent to a mid portion thereof, a stud loosely carried by the said member and extending into the box, and means at the upper end of the sleeve, for limiting upward movement of the stud.

4. The combination with the top wall of an annealing box, of a sleeve-like member extending vertically through said wall, adjacent to a mid portion thereof, a stud loosely carried by the said member and extending into the box, means at the upper end of the sleeve for limiting upward movement of the stud, and sealing means interposed between the said means and the stud, to prevent gas flow through the said sleeve.

5. The combination with the top wall of an annealing box, of a supporting member carried by a mid portion of said wall and extending downwardly in positionto rest upon a body of material within the box, the supporting member being formed of heat refractory material of low thermal conductivity.

6. The combination with the top wall of an annealing box, of a sleeve-like member extending vertically through said wall, adjacent to a mid portion thereof, a stud loosely carried by the said member and extending into the box, means at the upper end of the sleeve for limiting up- Ward movement of the stud, and sealing means in said sleeve, to prevent gas flow therethrough.

PERCY E. HUNTER, KENNETH J. DEAHL. 

